Best World Pictures of 2021

A year’s worth of images to feast your eyes on

16 December 2021 - 12:15

By Reuters

A man is doused by a water cannon during clashes as people gather in Brussels for a party in defiance of Belgium’s coronavirus restrictions.

Image: Yves Herman HAVING A BLAST A man is doused by a water cannon during clashes as people gather in Brussels for a party in defiance of Belgium’s coronavirus restrictions.

Lava is seen through the window of a kitchen in El Paso after the eruption of a volcano on the Canary Island of La Palma, Spain.

Image: Jon Nazca WASH, RAZE AND REPEAT Lava is seen through the window of a kitchen in El Paso after the eruption of a volcano on the Canary Island of La Palma, Spain.

Image: Alexandre Meneghini BEADY-EYED NOSE PECKER Pigeon fancier Yonisbel Santana on his rooftop in Havana, Cuba.

Image: Reuters/Henry Nicholls SCOTS ALREADY HAD A LEG UP Scotland fans in Leicester Square before the match against England in London.

Image: Ivan Alvarado DROWNING IN GOLD Kiran Badloe of the Netherlands gets into the water to celebrate winning gold in the men’s RS:X in sailing.

Debbie Carroll Boyce, Ms Senior America 2011, pulls back the curtains on the stage at the Ms Texas Senior America Pageant in Dallas.

Image: Shelby Tauber ONE MORE TIME Debbie Carroll Boyce, Ms Senior America 2011, pulls back the curtains on the stage at the Ms Texas Senior America Pageant in Dallas.

Disabled dogs in mobility aids run during a daily walk at The Man That Rescues Dogs Foundation in Chonburi, Thailand.

Image: Athit Perawongmetha TO THE FORE Disabled dogs in mobility aids run during a daily walk at The Man That Rescues Dogs Foundation in Chonburi, Thailand.

Lyubov Morekhodova, 79, who runs a house on the lakeside near remote villages, skates on ice-covered Lake Baikal in Russia.

Image: Yuri Novikov GRAN SPECTACLE Lyubov Morekhodova, 79, who runs a house on the lakeside near remote villages, skates on ice-covered Lake Baikal in Russia.

Taronga Zoo senior keeper Rob Dockerill holds Annie the platypus during a World Wildlife Day announcement pledging to save the Australian platypus from extinction, in Sydney.

Image: AAP Image/Dean Lewins ANNIE-DEPRESSANT Taronga Zoo senior keeper Rob Dockerill holds Annie the platypus during a World Wildlife Day announcement pledging to save the Australian platypus from extinction, in Sydney.

Israel’s Linoy Ashram is in action during the Rhythmic Gymnastics Individual Ball Final at the European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in Varna, Bulgaria.

Image: Spasiyana Sergieva BALL OVER MATTER Israel’s Linoy Ashram is in action during the Rhythmic Gymnastics Individual Ball Final at the European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in Varna, Bulgaria.

Image: Adnan Abidi AIM TO MAIM A police officer swings a baton during a protest against farm laws introduced by the government in New Delhi.

A 139-year-old Victorian house is hoisted towards its new location six blocks away, as the original site is to be used to build a block of flats in San Francisco.

Image: Brittany Hosea-Small MOVING HOUSE A 139-year-old Victorian house is hoisted towards its new location six blocks away, as the original site is to be used to build a block of flats in San Francisco.

A man pulls a bin with Usman Khan, 29, dressed up as Charlie Chaplin during a street performance in Peshawar, Pakistan.

Image: Fayaz Aziz RECYCLED VERSION A man pulls a bin with Usman Khan, 29, dressed up as Charlie Chaplin during a street performance in Peshawar, Pakistan.

Cows that were stranded in a flooded barn are rescued by people in boats and a Sea-Doo in Abbotsford, Canada, after rainstorms lashed British Columbia.

Image: Jennifer Gauthier SALVATION Cows that were stranded in a flooded barn are rescued by people in boats and a Sea-Doo in Abbotsford, Canada, after rainstorms lashed British Columbia.

Swiss artists Frank and twin brother Patrik Riklin perform during the presentation of their ‘Fondation Riklin’ project in Regensdorf, Switzerland.

Image: Arnd Wiegmann TWINS WITH A TWIST Swiss artists Frank and twin brother Patrik Riklin perform during the presentation of their ‘Fondation Riklin’ project in Regensdorf, Switzerland.

A protester wearing a red scarf on her head and face attends a flash mob near the Romanian parliament in Bucharest, calling for the swift passing of a law to introduce monitoring devices for offenders found guilty of domestic abuse.

Image: Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea IMPENETRABLE STARE A protester wearing a red scarf on her head and face attends a flash mob near the Romanian parliament in Bucharest, calling for the swift passing of a law to introduce monitoring devices for offenders found guilty of domestic abuse.

A dog with blue fur undergoes examination at a veterinary hospital in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, after a pack of stray dogs with blue fur was found near a chemical plant in the city of Dzerzhinsk.

Image: Anastasia Makarycheva DYE LIKE A DOG A dog with blue fur undergoes examination at a veterinary hospital in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, after a pack of stray dogs with blue fur was found near a chemical plant in the city of Dzerzhinsk.

Madame Tussauds's wax figure of Audrey Hepburn sits at an empty table to comply with social distancing requirements at a restaurant in Brooklyn, New York.

Image: Brendan McDermid BREAKFAST AT TUSSAUDS’S Madame Tussauds's wax figure of Audrey Hepburn sits at an empty table to comply with social distancing requirements at a restaurant in Brooklyn, New York.

A police officer tries to stop a demonstrator during a torch rally as people protest against the dissolution of parliament in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Image: Navesh Chitrakar SPARKS FLY A police officer tries to stop a demonstrator during a torch rally as people protest against the dissolution of parliament in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Image: Ponir Hossain TO DYE FOR A worker dries fabrics after applying colour at a dye factory in Narayanganj, Bangladesh.

Image: Jeenah Moon WORK OF ARTERY A couple participates during the annual NYC Bodypainting Day at Union Square in New York City.

People form the foundation of a human tower during the first performance of Colla Joves Xiquets de Valls and Colla Vella Dels Xiquets de Valls after the coronavirus halt in Valls, Spain.

Image: Albert Gea HIGH THIGH People form the foundation of a human tower during the first performance of Colla Joves Xiquets de Valls and Colla Vella Dels Xiquets de Valls after the coronavirus halt in Valls, Spain.

A member of the Samaritan sect takes part in a traditional pilgrimage marking the holiday of Shavuot, atop Mount Gerizim, near Nablus, Palestine.

Image: Navesh Chitrakar BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH A member of the Samaritan sect takes part in a traditional pilgrimage marking the holiday of Shavuot, atop Mount Gerizim, near Nablus, Palestine.

Image: Lee Smith DASHING FIGURE A Jewish man runs on the sandbanks in South Shields, Britain.

A demonstrator holds an animal’s heart as protests enter their fourth week with a new national strike called by workers’ unions, students and organisations demanding social change in Bogota, Colombia.

Image: Nathalia Angarita HEARTBREAKING A demonstrator holds an animal’s heart as protests enter their fourth week with a new national strike called by workers’ unions, students and organisations demanding social change in Bogota, Colombia.

Image: Alexey Pavlishak WHITE ELEPHANT Elephants dust themselves with soil at Taigan safari park in Belogorsk, Crimea.

Popular Party candidate Isabel Diaz Ayuso is at the end of a closing electoral campaign meeting ahead of the regional elections in Madrid, Spain.

Image: Susana Vera COAT OF ARMS Popular Party candidate Isabel Diaz Ayuso is at the end of a closing electoral campaign meeting ahead of the regional elections in Madrid, Spain.

The ‘pink supermoon’ rises behind the Eiffel Tower during a nationwide Covid-19 curfew in Paris.

Image: Christian Hartmann MOON ENJOYS THE SPOTLIGHT The ‘pink supermoon’ rises behind the Eiffel Tower during a nationwide Covid-19 curfew in Paris.

A woman worships the sun god as she stands amid the foam covering the polluted Yamuna river during the Hindu religious festival of Chhath Puja in New Delhi.

Image: Adnan Abidi SURRENDER A woman worships the sun god as she stands amid the foam covering the polluted Yamuna river during the Hindu religious festival of Chhath Puja in New Delhi.

Image: Stephanie Keith LOYAL PUPPY A boy walks behind his father as people celebrate the Jewish holiday of Purim in Brooklyn, New York City.

Image: Adnan Abidi IN THE HEART OF IT People lower the body of a man who died from Covid-19 into a grave in New Delhi.

Spanish free-diver and dancer Ariadna Hafez performs a tango at a depth of 10 metres inside the Y-40 pool in Montegrotto Terme, Italy.

Image: Bastien Soleil WASH AND LEARN Spanish free-diver and dancer Ariadna Hafez performs a tango at a depth of 10 metres inside the Y-40 pool in Montegrotto Terme, Italy.

A Ukrainian soldier plays with puppies at fighting positions on the line of separation from pro-Russian rebels in Donetsk region. The two unnamed puppies living on frontline positions will be taken home and named by soldiers departing on troops rotation.

Image: Oleksandr Klymenko A FEW DOGS IN THIS FIGHT A Ukrainian soldier plays with puppies at fighting positions on the line of separation from pro-Russian rebels in Donetsk region. The two unnamed puppies living on frontline positions will be taken home and named by soldiers departing on troops rotation.

Image: Carl Recine SKY IS THE AGE LIMIT A child watches people paragliding on the hill of Mam Tor near the village of Castleton, Derbyshire, Britain.

A Palestinian demonstrator scuffles with an Israeli border policewoman during a protest marking ‘Land Day’, in Sebastia near Nablus, on the West Bank.

Image: Raneen Sawafta EYE FOR AN EYE A Palestinian demonstrator scuffles with an Israeli border policewoman during a protest marking ‘Land Day’, in Sebastia near Nablus, on the West Bank.

Image: P Ravikumar FIGHT AND MAKE UP A man has colour powder thrown at him during Holi celebrations in Chennai, India.

Farmers play cricket on a deserted highway road during a 12-hour strike as part of protests against farm laws at the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border in Ghaziabad, India.

Image: Adnan Abidi STRAIGHT DRIVE Farmers play cricket on a deserted highway road during a 12-hour strike as part of protests against farm laws at the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border in Ghaziabad, India.

Women fan a model as she lies on the ground after having suffered from dizziness before the start of an event to show off designer traditional mantilla costumes in Seville, Spain.

Image: Marcelo del Pozo FANFARE Women fan a model as she lies on the ground after having suffered from dizziness before the start of an event to show off designer traditional mantilla costumes in Seville, Spain.

A stranded bride and groom, who were rescued by helicopter to get them to the church on time, kiss in front of a flooded bridge that had blocked their five-minute drive into town in Port Macquarie, Australia.

Image: Amanda Hibbard/Kate Foheringham BRIDGE INTO MATRIMONY A stranded bride and groom, who were rescued by helicopter to get them to the church on time, kiss in front of a flooded bridge that had blocked their five-minute drive into town in Port Macquarie, Australia.

A security guard at St Bonaventure University restrains a cameraman from the athletics department during a college basketball game in Dayton, Ohio.

Image: Griffin Quinn/Flyer News THE GAME HAS CHANGED A security guard at St Bonaventure University restrains a cameraman from the athletics department during a college basketball game in Dayton, Ohio.

Activist Steve Bray demonstrates outside Downing Street, after British MPs voted against an Environment Bill, allowing companies to pump raw sewage into UK rivers and seas.

Image: Henry Nicholls SHIT YOU NOT Activist Steve Bray demonstrates outside Downing Street, after British MPs voted against an Environment Bill, allowing companies to pump raw sewage into UK rivers and seas.

People take part in a nude photo shoot by renowned artist Spencer Tunick close to Arad, Israel. as part of a campaign to raise awareness of the need to preserve the Dead Sea.

Image: Amir Cohen NAKED TRUTH People take part in a nude photo shoot by renowned artist Spencer Tunick close to Arad, Israel. as part of a campaign to raise awareness of the need to preserve the Dead Sea.

Image: Shannon Stapleton TORMENT NYPD police respond to a report of an emotionally disturbed person in midtown Manhattan, New York City.

Personnel in orange hazmat suits march during a paramilitary parade held to mark the 73rd founding anniversary of the republic at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea.

Image: KCNA GASLIGHT MASK Personnel in orange hazmat suits march during a paramilitary parade held to mark the 73rd founding anniversary of the republic at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea.

Cristina Mamani walks near an unused boat in Lake Poopo, Bolivia’s second largest lake, which has dried up due to water diversion for regional irrigation needs and a warmer climate, according to local residents and scientists.

Image: Claudia Morales THAT SHIP HAS SETTLED Cristina Mamani walks near an unused boat in Lake Poopo, Bolivia’s second largest lake, which has dried up due to water diversion for regional irrigation needs and a warmer climate, according to local residents and scientists.

Image: Daniel Feldman LIFE DYES The Corfo lagoon has turned pink due to chemical waste in Trelew, Argentina.

British PM Boris Johnson struggles with an umbrella during a visit to the National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas, Staffordshire.

Image: Christopher Furlong BLOOMING WIND! British PM Boris Johnson struggles with an umbrella during a visit to the National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas, Staffordshire.

Image: Zohra Bensemra LEAN ON ME Senegalese Muslims wait to attend Eid-al-Adha prayers as Covid-19 cases spike in Dakar, Senegal.

Image: Jeenah Moon UPROARIOUS A man cools himself off on a fountain during a heat wave in New York City.

Image: Mohamed Azakir LEBANON-THREATENING A soldier helps a schoolgirl get to her parents after gunfire erupted in Beirut, Lebanon.

Hungary’s Ioulia Chtchetinina and Mark Magyar in action during the ice dance (free dance) at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Sochi, Russia.

Image: Evgenia Novozhenina SKIMMING OVER Hungary’s Ioulia Chtchetinina and Mark Magyar in action during the ice dance (free dance) at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Sochi, Russia.

A field of leeks is shown bathed in red and blue LED lights in the Dutch town of Lelystad as part of artist Daan Roosegaarde's new project ‘Grow’.

Image: Ruben Hamelink/Studio Roosegaarde PLANTS GLOW TALL A field of leeks is shown bathed in red and blue LED lights in the Dutch town of Lelystad as part of artist Daan Roosegaarde's new project ‘Grow’.

Carlos Mayorga, Mexican candidate for federal representative of the Solidarity Encounter Party, lies in a coffin as part of his campaign slogan ‘If I don’t deliver, let them bury me alive’ in Ciudad Juarez.

Image: Jose Luis Gonzalez CHARACTER ASSASSINATION Carlos Mayorga, Mexican candidate for federal representative of the Solidarity Encounter Party, lies in a coffin as part of his campaign slogan ‘If I don’t deliver, let them bury me alive’ in Ciudad Juarez.

Image: Wolfgang Rattay UNHOLY MOTORS A car leans on graves at a cemetery after heavy rainfalls in Dernau, Germany.

A Hindu holy man wears a mask before the procession for taking a dip in the Ganges river during Shahi Snan at ‘Kumbh Mela’, or the Pitcher Festival, in Haridwar, India.

Image: Danish Siddiqui CURRENT SITUATION A Hindu holy man wears a mask before the procession for taking a dip in the Ganges river during Shahi Snan at ‘Kumbh Mela’, or the Pitcher Festival, in Haridwar, India.

Image: Jorge Silva FACE-OFF A woman enters a beauty salon in Kabul, where adverts featuring women have been defaced.

Daniel Craig poses during the world premiere of the new James Bond film ‘No Time To Die’ at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Image: Henry Nicholls LINES, CAMERA, ACTION Daniel Craig poses during the world premiere of the new James Bond film ‘No Time To Die’ at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Peru’s presidential candidate Pedro Castillo hands over bread during a breakfast with members of his family before casting his vote, in Chugur.

Image: Alessandro Cinque HAT IN THE RING Peru’s presidential candidate Pedro Castillo hands over bread during a breakfast with members of his family before casting his vote, in Chugur.

Image: Ronen Zvulun THE VIRUS CAN'T SEE ME An Ultra-Orthodox man wears three masks over his face while celebrating Purim in Jerusalem.

A 16-year-old girl is supported by her aunt as she breaks down during the burial of her mother who died from Covid-19 in Manaus, Brazil.

Image: Bruno Kelly GOT YOUR BACK A 16-year-old girl is supported by her aunt as she breaks down during the burial of her mother who died from Covid-19 in Manaus, Brazil.